To My Valentine

To the one who courted me when I wasn't sure I wanted to be courted

To the man that proposed and promised his life and mine to be forever together on this side of Heaven

To the person who stepped out in Faith with me when we bought our first home together

To the one who said "let's get a puppy" and cared for her, trained her, and played with her

To the one who said "I'm ready" in the months before we became pregnant with our first child

And the person who stood beside me each moment of our first delivery

To the one who stayed up nights with our colicky newborn and who changed even the dirtiest diapers without complaint (ok, not TOO much complaint!)

To the man who said "how about another?" the week we found we were expecting again

To the one who stood by me for every scary moment of that little one's arrival

And the person who said "just Down syndrome?" as we received her diagnosis two months later

To the man who said 'yes' when a child needed a place to stay

And the one who said "I'll do it" when I was exhausted from caring from three very young kids including one very difficult child

To the man who said "yes, I'd do it again" when even I wasn't able to say it- and who said "ok" when I finally said no

To the one who stood by me as we turned our 8 lb baby over for heart surgery

To the person who said that adoption sounds good, even after having such a difficult experience with having another person's child with us

To the man that said "let's go international" knowing the need was greatest there and having the faith that God was sending us this way

To the one that said decided "ok, two" when he learned of such a great need

And the person that held me to cry together as we said goodbye to those two kids

To the man that agreed to this completely different plan with so many unknowns and medical difficulties ahead

To the one that said "this is God" and trusted blindly to lead the way

To the person who was the strength of our family during the difficult months of surgeries

And the one that cared for the other three children even in the midst of school and work

To the man that held his babies and prayed over their futures

To the one who said "yay" when another blessing made themself known

And the person that helped out with the house and kids while I took a break after a long and sick day

To the man that holds my heart, who always will, and who I cannot wait to spend the rest of my days with

Happy Valentine's Day, Michael, I love you!